PARASHA TERUMAH – Ex.25:1–27:19; 1 Kings 5:26–6:13; Heb 9:1–28
“Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Tell the people of Isra’el to take up a collection for me — accept a free will offering (terumah) from anyone who wholeheartedly wants to give.’” (Ex. 25:1–2)
From this parasha to the end of the book of Exodus the Torah describes in minute detail the construction of the Mishkan, the first collective house of worship of the Jewish people. In this week’s portion the Lord commanded Moses to do something that makes many people feel uncomfortable – to take up a free will offering (a terumah) from the Israelites to build the Tabernacle (‘Mishkan’). This was a totally voluntary invitation without any strings attached nor manipulation or promise of reward that proliferates the “Name it and claim it” super rich evangelists who prey upon those who are poor, needy and gullible. No, this was an invitation presented to the entire Israelite community to make some form of contribution however small or big in the establishment a place of worship where God Himself would reside.
The account of the Tabernacle’s construction is mirrored in the creation story in Gen 1-2, providing us with a key to better understanding things. Genesis began with an act of Divine creation. Exodus ends with an act of human creation with establishment of the Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle represented a miniature universe constructed with the same precision, Divine wisdom and order as the universe itself. God spoke His creation into existence and the Tabernacle was formed in accordance with His spoken instructions and became a dwelling place for the Divine.
The dimensions of the universe are precise and mathematically exact. Had they differed in the slightest degree the universe, or life, would not exist. It was the same for Noah’s Ark as now with the Tabernacle. Anything less than perfection is tainted with sin and morphs into something counterfeit and perverted.
One rabbi (Jonathan Sacks) observed that: “…the misplacement of even a few of the 3.1 billion letters in the human genome can lead to devastating genetic conditions. The famous “butterfly effect” – the beating of a butterfly’s wing somewhere may cause a tsunami elsewhere, thousands of miles away – tells us that small actions can have large consequences. That is the message the Tabernacle conveys.” If a pilot’s compass reading is even one degree incorrect, the plane’s destination could be thousands of miles astray.
The description of God’s creation in Genesis is organised around the number of sevens, representing Divine perfection. For example, there are 7 days of creation. The word “good” appears 7 times, the word “God” 35 times, and the word “earth” 21 times. The opening verse of Genesis contains 7 words, the second 14, and the 3 concluding verses 35 words. The complete text is 469 (7×67) words.
And we see how the account of the construction of the Tabernacle is also built around the number 7. For example, the word “heart” appears 7 times in Ex. 35:5-29, regarding the materials used in the Tabernacle’s construction and the word ‘terumah’ also appears 7 times in this section.
When we align ourselves to the perfect will of God in His Divine perfection as represented by the number 7, we will experience the full measure of His blessings as we become enfolded in His garments and are transformed from glory to glory.
As with God’s creation, no physical space, however large, is big enough to contain Him and no space is too small that can conceal Him. Neither life nor death, nor principalities, things present nor things to come; neither height nor death nor any created thing can ever separate us from the Love of God in Messiah Yeshua our Lord! (Rom. 8:37-39)
The Tabernacle was a visible reminder of God’s presence within the camp, the same person who occupies the entire universe He created. It was Israel’s first creative achievement signalling the amazing reality that we can become a home for His Divine presence, His Shekinah glory, Immanuel – God with us and in us – for “…the Word became flesh and Tabernacled in us and we saw His Shekinah, the Shekinah of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
Why is it that when we read the account of Creation in Genesis, it contains just 34 verses compared to 100’s of verses with the construction of the Mishkan? The universe is infinite in size compared to the smallness of the Mishkan.
The length of any passage in Scripture is a guide to determine its significance to any episode or law. So why does the Torah devote so much time to the Mishkan? The sages explain that it’s not difficult for God to make a home for humanity. What is difficult is for humanity to make a home for God.
One amazing thing is that throughout the Israelites wanderings there was never a moment when the Shekinah glory departed from them throughout their 40-year sojourn. Despite their murmurings and rebellion, the Israelites followed wherever the Shekinah led them. This reminds us of Yeshua’s promise to us: “ I will never leave nor forsake you.” (through thick and thin…)
Up to this point in Israel’s history, the Israelites had received many miracles of provision from God but here for the first time they were given the opportunity to give back something to Him – a terumah – a freewill offering.
How can we ever begin to repay the Lord for sending us His most precious gift of all: His dearly beloved Son, Yeshua? (John 3:16) But, how many times do we ever ask Him, “Lord what can I give You that is precious in Your sight?”
In Jewish Law, a person’s giving, known as ‘tzedeka’, is considered an essential part of life. Even the poorest person can give to charity because there are always others who are worse off than themselves. We see this principle consistently in Scripture such as with the NT account of the widow’s mite (Mark 12:41-44 – the lowest valued coin equivalent to a R10 cents coin).
The Terumah offering ensured that everyone could contribute something, however small: precious metals and stones, fine linens, animal skins, wood, oil for the lamps, and fragrant spices for the incense. Yeshua invites us to offer up our lives as a ‘living sacrifice’ as a free-will offering unto Him. Your best is always good enough for Him.
It is better to give a little whole-heartedly than much begrudgingly. 2Cor. 9 – “God loves a cheerful giver.” It is not how much we give but the manner we do so that is of primary importance to God.
So, we see here in this parasha that the Tabernacle was established entirely out of voluntary offerings. Unlike the golden calf that was a counterfeit offering, we worship the Creator of the universe Himself not anything that is created. Idolatry is anything we give preference to in place of the Creator. The Tabernacle represents the signature of a person’s life who is wholeheartedly and voluntarily submitted to the One who ‘tabernacles’ in us.
In Judaism, this very idea of creating a physical “home” for “God’s glory,” is a puzzle. How can God who is beyond space reside in a confined space? Yet, we read in John 1 that, “…the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.
Yeshua desires to reign within us because He alone can make ‘all things new’ and it comes in the form of an offering, a ‘terumah’ (free will offering). What greater offering can we give in response to this other than the totality of our lives?
The Tabernacle became the turning point in Jewish history. Even the poorest of the poor could contribute with their ‘widows mite.’ The Israelites understood that we survive by what we are given, but we achieve dignity by what we give.
The mishkan became the abiding place of the Divine presence because it was built out of voluntary contributions. When we invite God into our lives without coercion, manipulation or ulterior motives, we begin to understand one of the profoundest messages concerning the principle of giving. Up to this point in Israel’s history, they had received many miracles of provision from God but here we see for the first time opportunity for the Israelites to give back something to God.
And in this parasha, we glimpse the logic behind the Mishkan; this was where the Shekinah glory abided in fullness within the Holy of Holies without concealment. The incredible truth of Scripture for every believer is that through Yeshua: “19 …we now have boldness to enter the Holiest by His blood, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh!” (Heb 10)
And those who ’dwell (tabernacle) in the secret place of the Most High’ shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty!’ (Ps.91).
God has provided for us the greatest of all gifts in Yeshua, with the invitation to give Him our ‘terumah’ the ‘freewill offering of our lives to Him.
